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Points of Focus
- AI-themed funds drew $46 billion from October 2025 to July 2026 as Bitcoin ETPs lost about $5 billion.
- BlackRock’s data shows a roughly $51-billion flow gap is not proof of a direct Bitcoin-to-AI rotation.
- US spot Bitcoin ETFs added $486.8 million on Aug. 17-18, a rebound outside BlackRock’s July cutoff.
BlackRock found a sharp split in investor flows after Bitcoin’s (BTC) October 2025 peak. AI-themed funds drew more than $46 billion through July 2026, while spot Bitcoin exchange-traded products (ETPs) lost about $5 billion over the same period.
That left a $51-billion gap in net flows. BlackRock said stronger demand for AI-exposed equities likely competed with Bitcoin for capital during a period when BTC fell more than 50% from its October high to below $60,000 in June.
BlackRock says Bitcoin’s core investment case remains unchanged after a 50%+ drawdown from its October 2025 highs.
The world’s largest asset manager views the sell-off as the result of crypto-native deleveraging and shifting flows, not a change in the long-term thesis.
At the… pic.twitter.com/z4ratfqFkD
— The Wolf Of All Streets (@scottmelker) August 18, 2026
BlackRock finds $51-billion gap between AI funds and Bitcoin ETPs
BlackRock’s cumulative fund-flow data shows spot Bitcoin ETPs attracted about $60 billion from January 2024 through September 2025, compared with roughly $10 billion for AI-themed funds. From October 2025 through July 2026, Bitcoin ETPs recorded about $5 billion in outflows, while AI-themed funds drew more than $46 billion.
The comparison has limits. BlackRock’s AI category includes semiconductor-sector funds, leveraged single-name semiconductor exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and both index and actively managed AI equity ETFs. Its Bitcoin category covers US and international ETPs holding spot BTC. The data shows a divergence in fund flows but doesn’t establish that investors sold Bitcoin products and moved the same capital into AI funds.
BlackRock also identified deleveraging as another source of pressure on Bitcoin. Futures open interest (OI) had exceeded $90 billion near the October 2025 peak, with about 80% of that exposure in perpetual futures outside CME. Further liquidation waves in February and June 2026 helped push Bitcoin below $60,000.
Recent Bitcoin ETF inflows test the rotation thesis
BlackRock’s comparison ends in July, before the latest rebound in US spot Bitcoin ETF flows. Farside Investors recorded $297.5 million of net inflows on Aug. 17 and another $189.3 million on Aug. 18, a combined $486.8 million. That followed $385.2 million of net withdrawals from Aug. 10 through Aug. 14.
The August rebound leaves BlackRock’s October-to-July comparison intact while limiting any claim that the rotation away from Bitcoin is permanent. Farside put cumulative US spot Bitcoin ETF net inflows at $52.34 billion through Aug. 18.
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